


Ohana

by TheUnknownSchuylerSister



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: F/M, Family, Love, One Night Stands, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:08:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26377822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheUnknownSchuylerSister/pseuds/TheUnknownSchuylerSister
Summary: A one night stand. That's all they signed up for. Too bad life had its own plans for Thea and Steve.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"Listen, like I said I'm not asking you for anything here. I just know what it's like to grow up without a father, so I thought you deserved to know." I slid the piece of paper and the picture across the table to him. "The choice is yours, but if you want to be involved, there's no coming in and out. You're either here or you aren't."
Relationships: Chin Ho Kelly/Malia Waincroft, Danny "Danno" Williams/Original Female Character(s), Kono Kalakaua/Adam Noshimuri, Rachel Edwards/Danny "Danno" Williams, Steve McGarrett/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 33
Kudos: 59





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think! I plan to have chapter two up by next week. I also have a small character description for Thea and Nora up on my Wattpad. https://www.wattpad.com/story/239804835-ohana

Thea's POV-

I stared at the clock on the nightstand, watching 5:59 AM turn into 6:00 AM. I sighed as the alarm started blaring and sat up. I whacked the top of it to stop, almost knocking it completely off the nightstand. I caught it before it fell.

"Nice, Thea." I mumbled and walked into the bathroom to start my day. Normally, I would be ready to get up and get going but today wasn't going to be a typical day at the office. Today, I had to face a man I barely knew and tell him I'm pregnant with his child.

After a one night stand with a man that I met in a bar, who I later found out to be Steve McGarrett, the leader of the Five-0 Task Force that my best friend works with, 6 weeks later I learned that I was pregnant. And here I am at 12 weeks and I'm just now telling him. I took the whole day off from work to be able to meet up with him, go to the doctors, and run several more errands that have been neglected in the last month. I run through my mental checklist of the things I need to get done today as I started to brush my teeth.

'Breakfast with Steve, doctors appointment, grocery store, laundry, pay the bills, call Mindy, pharmacy-' A knock on the bathroom door interrupted my train of thought. I spit out my toothpaste and put my toothbrush back in its holder. I opened my bathroom door to see Nora, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her in for a hug. I'm shocked she's up already, usually I have to go get her up. "Good morning baby. Did you sleep well?" I kissed the top of her head.

She nodded, burying her face in my small bump. She was over the moon about the baby. I had to come clean about the baby when I couldn't eat chicken because of the smell the whole first month of my pregnancy. Between that and the morning sickness, the 7-year-old was aware that something was up. Whenever it came to telling people I was pregnant, they would typically guess and ask me before I even had a chance to say anything. Mindy knew before I even knew. She went and bought me some tests and went to the doctor with me afterwards. She has been my biggest supporter through this whole thing. I just haven't told her who the father was yet. I felt like he needed to know before I tell anyone who knows him. When she asked me who the father was, I told her I would tell her after I told the father. She was skeptical but told me she understood my position and respected that I'd tell her when I was ready.

I ran my fingers through Nora's hair to get some of the knots out. "I'm sorry you have to get up this early, but I have an important meeting to get to. So, Aunt Mindy is going to take you to get some breakfast then drive you to school. Why don't you go get dressed and I'll braid your hair before we leave, okay?" She yawned and nodded again.

"Okay, mama." She mumbled and went back to her room. Nora was actually my sister, but after losing our mother when Nora was a baby and our father only popping in and out of my life- he hadn't been around at all since Nora was born- I became her legal guardian. I've been the only parent shes known her whole life, so somewhere in the last year she started calling me mama and I've never felt the need to correct her. I've never hidden the fact that I'm her sister from her. But she always tells me, "But you take care of me and love me like a mommy would." Our mother died when Nora was a few months old. I was 21, so the courts placed her in my custody after I proved I could provide for her. I was planning to start the adoption process soon but given my current situation that might have to be pushed back a little.

I quickly washed my face and put on a little bit of makeup. Once I finished that I ran my fingers through my hair to get the knots out. It was still curly from yesterday, so I didn't plan to waste the time it took to style it.

I threw on my clothes as Nora walked back into the room in her Sacred Heart school uniform. I was blessed with a smart girl who got a scholarship to Sacred Heart. Tuition was still a little out of my price range, but I wasn't about to deny her the education she would get there. I glanced at the clock as I brushed through her chocolate brown hair. 6:34 AM.

'26 minutes. You got this. You're not asking him for anything, you're just telling him you're pregnant with his child.'

"There. All done." I said as I tied off the end of the braid. "Alright, lets get our shoes on and hit the road."

It took fifteen minutes to drop Nora off at the diner with Mindy and get to the shrimp truck. When I finally called him yesterday and told him that it was urgent that we meet up, he sounded rushed. The only time he was able to meet was early this morning. Usually I'm just now getting up to get Nora and I ready for the day.

I went over to the truck and smiled at Kamekona. "Hey Kamekona."

"Hey lil Sista! What can I do for you and the little one this morning?" Kamekona picked up quick that I was pregnant when I came with Mindy for lunch three weeks ago. Three garlic plates all by myself. Now whenever I'm here, he packs me up an extra plate to take with me.

"Just a coconut water. I don't have much of an appetite this morning." I said, having him the money for my water.

After he handed me the bottle, I went and sat down at a table. I grew more and more nervous as the minutes passed. I glanced down at the watch I was wearing. 7:09. I figured he be late. His attitude over the phone yesterday told me that I was calling at a bad time. And the fact that the only time he could meet with me was 7 AM. I slowly sipped my water, trying to calm my stomach. After about 10 more minutes, I couldn't sit down anymore. I got up and paced around the dining area, kind of thankful that it wasn't too crowded yet.

"Woah lil Sista, what you burning a hole on my turf for?" Kame asked me, wiping down a table. I sighed.

"I'm just waiting for someone. I don't think they're going to show."

"Who you waiting on?"

I bit my lip. I know Kamekona is close with Five-0. At least that's what Mindy tells me. "Um, Steve McGarrett."

"McGarrett? Let me make a call, I'll have him here in no time." He started to walk back to the truck.

"No, no. Don't worry about it Kame, I'm sure he's just busy. I asked him to meet me here at the last minute. I'll catch him next time." I said, but I knew if I didn't tell him today, I probably wouldn't have the courage to tell him ever.

Kamekona didn't look too convinced, but he nodded. "At least let me get you a plate to take with you." He said. I laughed a little and nodded.

"That sounds great, thank you Kamekona." I said, going to sit back down.

"I'll bring it out when it's ready." He went back to the truck.

Not even 5 minutes later, the place was packed. Surfers coming before or after they're morning in the water. People stopping by before work.

"You said it was an emergency!" I heard a voice yell over the crowd and break me out of my train of thought. I looked up to find Kamekona, Steve, and Danny Williams standing in front of the truck. That's another thing that made me realize how small our world actually is. Danny is Grace's father, but I've only ever met Rachel.

'Oh god. Did he call him?'

"You got a young lady here waiting on you McGarrett." Kamekona said to him. "It ain't polite to make a lady wait."

"What? What do you mean someone is- Oh shit." He sighed and ran his hand over his face. He turned to look out into the crowd of people sitting and eating. I quickly turned my head, looking out into the water instead. But I could feel the eyes on me. I knew he spotted me.

'Get over it, you have to tell him. You have no choice.'

I sighed and sat up straight and turned my head to see him coming towards me. He looked angry. Great.

"Hi." I said softly as he sat down across from me.

"Sorry I'm late. I got held up at work." He said.

'You forgot.'

I shook my head. "No, it's fine. I called you at the last minute. I just really needed to see you in person."

He nodded, looking slightly confused still. "So, what's up?" He asked.

I was silent for a moment. I had ran through my head several times on how I was going to say this.

"First, I just want to say I'm not here to ask you for anything. You have a right to know so I just, uhh..." I was stumbling to find the words to say. Doing this in front of my mirror was a lot easier than doing this face to face. "I'm pregnant."

Steve was silent and just stared at me. I couldn't read the emotions in his face. Obviously he was shocked, but I couldn't tell if that was anger mixed in or not.

"You-You're what?" He stammered.

"I'm pregnant. And it's yours." I whispered, running my hand through my hair. I leaned my forehead into my palm. "I guess we both weren't thinking about protection when it happened."

"Are you sure it's mine?" He asked, running his hand over his face.

I was a little hurt that he would even ask me that, but we don't know each other. "Yes, I'm positive it's yours."

He just stared at me again. I opened my mouth to say something again about not asking him for anything.

"How long have you known? It's been a while since..." He trailed off. He had his elbows up on the table with his hands crossed. He leaned in closer to the table, probably attempting to make this conversation more private than it was out in the busy morning crowd.

I looked down at my own hands on the table. "About six weeks. I was already six weeks along so I'm at 12 weeks now."

"And you're just now telling me?" He looked disbelieved.

I shot a glare at him. "This is just as shocking for me as it is for you! So far this pregnancy has been nothing but miserable for me so I'm sorry if it took me some time to track you down and contact you."

He shot me a confused look. "Track me down?"

I scoffed and crossed my arms. "Well you didn't exactly tell me your name when you put me in the cab that night. I had to figure out who you were."

He was silent for a moment. "How did you figure out who I was?"

"Mindy. She showed me a picture of you and your team when you went to Side Streets one night. I recognized you instantly." I sighed and picked at a splinter of wood sticking up from the table. "I might have uh, gotten your personal cell number from her phone one night."

Steve shook his head. "Wait, you know Mindy Shaw? One of our medical examiner's?" I could see he was trying to connect the dots in his head.

I nodded. "Yeah, she's my best friend. We went to school together. Elementary through college. Small world, huh?" I laughed softly.

He smiled a little. "Yeah, no kidding."

"Kono and I also went to high school together. And your partners daughter and my sister are best friends." I leaned into the table and rubbed my eyes. "Jesus, this world is getting smaller and smaller."

"So, you know Danny?" He asked, looking back at his partner who was leaning up against the shrimp truck.

"No, we've never met. I've only met Rachel."

He nodded and it was silent between us again. He looked over to the water which gave me a moment to really look at him. He was attractive. Very attractive. Even more than I remember him being that night. But in my defense, a lot of tequila was involved. His dark hair and green eyes were absolutely gorgeous.

'Jesus Christ Thea.'

"Mindy doesn't know by the way." I finally spoke up. "I mean, she knows I'm pregnant, but she doesn't know who the father is. I told her I needed to tell him before I told anyone else. She doesn't know about that night either."

He nodded and looked over at me. "You said this pregnancy's been miserable for you so far. Is something wrong?" I could hear the concern in his voice. It made my heart flutter a little bit.

"No, no. Nothing wrong. The baby is completely fine. It's just, morning sickness for me is more like all day sickness." I smiled a little. "And the baby doesn't like most food right now but seems to already have an addiction to garlic shrimp." I laughed. As if on queue, Kamekona walked over with a to-go bag with two styrofoam containers in it.

"Here ya go sista!" He said and sat the bag down in front of me. I looked at the bag and then up at him.

"I thought we said just one plate, Kame?"

"You and the keiki need to eat! Gotta stay strong for the little ones." He said as he walked away.

Steve shook his head. "So Kamekona knows?" The frustration in his voice was clear. I rolled my eyes before I could stop myself. We were just having a good moment.

"He knows I'm pregnant, just not who the father is. He figured it out a few weeks ago when I was eating like I hadn't eaten in several days. Which wasn't completely untrue. For a while I couldn't keep much down."

Steve nodded. "I'm sorry, I'm just trying to wrap my head around it still." He ran his hand over his face again and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I probably don't need to ask you this but... You are planning on keeping it right?"

I just smiled softly at him. "Yeah... Yeah I am." I reached into my bag and pulled out the first ultrasound picture and a piece of paper that had my information written down, as well as the information for the doctors appointment that I had later today.

"Listen, like I said I'm not asking you for anything here. I just know what it's like to grow up without a father, so I thought you deserved to know." I slid the piece of paper and the picture across the table to him. "The choice is yours, but if you want to be involved, there's no coming in and out. You're either here or you aren't."

He picked up the two items and read the piece of paper. "You have an appointment today?"

I nodded, my hand going down to my bump as I thought about the ultrasound. "Yeah. If you're available you're more than welcome to be there. I know it's last minute and that this is all still a lot to take in so if you aren't ready then I understand. But again," I looked him in the eye. "There's no coming in and out. If you want to be there and be involved then do that. But popping in and out just when it's convenient for you is not going to happen. That's how I grew up and I won't allow our child to grow up like that either."

Steve went to say something but glanced down at the picture. I could tell by the look on his face he was speechless the same way I was when I first saw the picture up on the screen in the doctors office. He had a softer look on his face, something he hadn't had the whole time we've been sitting here.

"Crazy right? One picture and you feel like your heart might explode." I said.

Steve laughed a little and was interrupted by Danny calling his name.

"Steve! We gotta go, babe! We got a suspect!"

Steve looked back at his partner. "Alright!" He turned to me as he started to get up. "I'm sorry."

I shook my head and stood up too, grabbing my to-go bag. "It's fine. I have some errands to run before I head to my appointment. It's okay if you can't make it, really. I figure you guys are in the middle of a case."

He sighed. "Yeah... Yeah and it doesn't look like its ending soon either. Uh, I'm really going to try and make it. Even if I don't, can I call you later?"

I nodded and smiled at him. "Yeah, of course. You have my information so call or stop by anytime. There's still a lot we need to talk about." I said. I moved my hand over my bump, which Steve stared at the whole time.

"Steve!"

"Alright, Danny!" He shot back. But his eyes never left my stomach.

"You better get going." I laughed. I smiled at him again before I started to walk away. "I'll talk to you later."

Steve stood there and watched me walk back to my car.

"Hey, Neanderthal, we got a case!"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time."


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy! Please let me know what you guys think!
> 
> I am switching up the POV in this chapter. If you have a specific POV you'd like to hear from the characters, let me know.
> 
> I also went back and edited a few things in chapter one!

At the office- 

“You what!" Danny screeched as they exited the elevator. After they figured out that their "suspect" was going to be no help, they headed back to the office. Thank God everyone else was out of the office at the moment. The last thing Steve wanted to deal with is everyone else finding out about this before he had a chance to process it himself. He had spit it out to Danny on their elevator ride up to the office. 

A baby. Steve was gonna have a baby. Well, Thea was going to have a baby. Steve's baby. He sighed and walked straight into his office, ignoring Danny as he continued to ask him to repeat what he just said. 

"I'm sorry, you got who, what? You got a girl pregnant?" Danny followed him into the office quickly. Steve sighed again and sank down into his chair, head in my hands. 

"What am I gonna do, Danny? I barely know this girl. We hooked up once when we met at the bar at Side Streets! Hell, I never even told her my name! She called me out of the blue yesterday and told me she had to see me in person. That it was urgent. It took me a minute to even realize who she was." He ranted, leaning back into the chair and stared up at the ceiling. Danny, for once, was silent. He looked like he was thinking which was never a good thing. After a moment he finally spoke up. 

"What's her name?" 

"Thea Kenwood. Why?" Steve asked. Without saying a word, he got up and left Steve sitting in the office alone. "Where are you going?" He called after him. Not a minute later he was back and tossed a file down on the desk. "What is this?" 

He sat down in the chair in front of the desk again. "Theodora, also known as Thea, Kenwood. I knew she looked familiar when I saw her at Kamekona's. Grace is best friends with her sister, Nora. She's going to a sleepover there this weekend so I thought I'd look into who was going to have my kid overnight." He said, leaning back in his chair. He pointed to the file on the desk. "That, is a complete background check on the woman you've impregnated." 

Steve stared at the file. Everything he wanted to suddenly know about this women was sitting right on his desk. He would know just about her entire life if he looked into it. Normally, Steve would have immediately done his own research about this woman. But something told him he shouldn't do it. He needed to respect her privacy more than that. 

Ignoring his own thoughts, Steve looked up at Danny. "Did you read it?" 

Danny nodded. "Yeah. Are you?"

Steve pulled the file over to him, staring at it for a moment. He looked up at Danny and shook his head. "Anything important I need to know?" 

Danny leaned back and shrugged. "28. A counselor and board member down at the Hawaiian Youth Center. She has custody of her little sister Nora, the one that's best friends with Grace. Nothing really stands out. Just a hard working girl trying to raise a 7 year old. " 

Steve nodded, rubbing his hand over his face while he swiveled slightly in his car. Steve spoke softly. "I'm gonna be a dad." He looked at Danny with glossy eyes. His eyes widened then snapped shut. "Oh god, I'm gonna be a dad!" Steve dropped his head onto his desk. Danny laughed and threw his head back. 

"Oh boy, Super Seal having his first freak out. I love it." Danny chuckled, throwing his hands up. 

Steve rolled his eyes. "Shut up." 

After Danny's laughter dies down, they sit in silence for several minutes. 

"She gave me an out." Steve said softly. Danny's head shot up. 

"You didn't take it did you?" 

Steve shook his head. "No! No, I...” He pulled the ultrasound out of his pocket and looked at it for a moment before handing it to Danny. "A small part of me wanted to, but she gave that to me. How can I not be a part of my own child's life? I can't just go on with my life everyday knowing that my kids out there and I wasn't a part of their life!" Steve ranted, talking with his hands like his partner does.

Danny looked up from the ultrasound. He was remembering how he felt seeing Grace for the first time on the monitor that day in the doctor’s office. "Wait, are you mad she gave you an out?"

Steve sighed as he leaned back and rubbed his eyes. "No. I mean, I don't know. How could she possibly think that I wouldn't be there? That's my child too." 

Danny shook his head. "No, Steve. I'm sure she didn't mean it like that. I mean you said so yourself. You barely know the girl. That means she barely knows you too. How the hell was she supposed to know you wouldn't just say, 'Oh that really sucks for you but I don't want anything to do with you or the baby.'" He put the ultrasound back on the desk. "That freak out you just had a moment ago, I'm sure she's been having a similar one. She had nothing to tell her that you wouldn’t just leave her and that kid out to dry.” Danny sighed, leaning back to cross his legs. “Look, I know finding out you’re gonna be a father is scary. I was terrified when Rachel and I found out we were gonna have Grace. Hell, she’s seven years old and I’m still scared every day. But hey,” Danny stood and reached across the desk to pull Steve to his feet and into a bro-hug. “You’re not gonna be alone. You know we got your back no matter what.”

Steve smiled and returned Danny’s hug. “Thanks Danno.”

Danny pulled away in time for Steve to see the eye roll at the nickname. “And whether she knows it or not, we’ve got Thea’s back. So anything you guys need, just let us know. Speaking of, are you gonna tell the cousins today or wait a bit?”

“I think I’m going to wait a bit. I at least want to have another chat with Thea and let this all sink in some more.” Steve said. He pulled out the other piece of paper that Thea gave him with the ultrasound. “She has an appointment today that she invited me to. She said if I couldn’t make it it wasn’t a big deal. I’d like to try and make it, but by the looks of this case I won’t be able to.” He sighed. He really wanted to be able to be there. He just hoped that Thea wouldn’t like his not being there as a sign that he didn’t want to be involved. That was a conversation that he was going to have to have with her. His job was dangerous and demanding. 

“What time is the appointment? They usually aren’t that long so I don’t see why you couldn’t go.” Danny asked him. 

Steve glanced at the slip of paper. “11. It’s just 9:30. I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it. But I told her I would call her later even if I wasn’t able to show up.” 

Danny shook his head, following Steve towards the office door after they saw Chin and Kono walk into the offices. “I swear, I’m going to get you to that appointment. Trust me, they’re more important than you think.”

“Hey boss, we think we have a new lead on our suspect.” Chin said, going to work on the tech table to pull up some surveillance footage. 

“Alright, what do we have?”

The doctor’s office-

Thea sighed, plopping the magazine down on the table in front of her chair in the waiting room. The wait was going on 30 minutes and the seated were extremely uncomfortable, even for non-pregnant women, Thea imagined. Finding a better doctor’s office was on her list of things to do today before she had to pic Nora up from school. Mindy was supposed to meet her after this for lunch so she could get her recommendations, but also so she could finally tell her who the father was. This was a conversation Thea was dying to have with her best friend.

She was also going to have to have a conversation with Rachel. Through the girls, the women have gotten pretty close. Rachel offered to help out with Nora whenever Thea needed help. Rachel told her that she remembered how exhausting it was to still work while pregnant and she couldn’t imagine having to go through this alone, regardless of the father's help with the baby or not. She told Thea that everyone needs a support system adn to not hesitate to call if she needed anything or just wanted to talk to someone who has been there. 

Thea was thankful to have a wonderful support group. Between Mindy, Rachel, all her friends at work, and now from the sounds of it, Steve. She was finally starting to feel better about this pregnancy. 

Thea smiled to herself and leaned back in the waiting room chair. Right as she was starting to get comfortable, her name was called. She made small talk with the nurse as they walked back to the exam room. 

“So I hear we’re at 12 weeks already!” The nurse said excitingly. “Will the father be joining us today?” It was a routine question, her nurse last week had asked her the same thing.

“No, he’s stuck at work. It’s just me today.” Thea said, smiling friendly at the nurse. It felt nice to be able to say that and actually mean it this time. She had used the same excuse on her visit a few weeks ago. She really hadn’t expected Steve to come today but felt like she owed it to him to have the option.  
“Aw, okay. Well, we’ll make sure we get some good pictures of the little one for him to see.” The nurse smiled and let Thea into the exam room. “Okay, if you’ll just change into the top laid out on the table, then lay down, I will be right back to get started.” 

Thea nodded and waited for the nurse to leave before quickly changing into the paper like shirt. She groaned at how sensitive her boobs were rubbing against the thin fabric. She had already turned to wearing sports bras on most days since regular wired bras just weren't comfortable anymore. And she didn’t see it getting any better for the rest of her pregnancy. 

She hopped up on the table, trying her best not to mess up the paper that was laid across it. She leaned back and closed her eyes so she could try and get comfortable. 

‘Goddamn, the chairs and tables are made of bricks.’ She thought to herself. 

There was a knock on the door that startled her a little. “Uh, come in.” Her eyes widened slightly when she saw Steve poke his head in the door. 

“Is it okay that I come in?” He asked, opening the door up a little more to walk in. 

Thea smiled softly at him. She hadn’t expected him to show up today. “Yeah of course. I just didn’t think you were going to be able to make it.” She watched him walk in and close the door behind him. He walked over to the exam table and glanced down at her small bump that was much better to see in the top she was wearing now than the one she had on this morning. 

“Yeah, I didn’t think I was going to either. I have to get back to work after this, but I really wanted to be here so Danny and I made a pit stop.” He said. 

Before Thea could respond to him, there was another knock at the door and the nurse came into the room. 

“Alrighty let’s- Oh! Hello! You must be the father?” She smiled at Steve, a bit flirtier than Thea liked. She had no claim to Steve, so she didn’t know why the nurse grinning at Steve like that irked her so much. They were going to be co-parents, that’s it. 

Steve politely smiled at the woman. “Uhm, yeah. Yeah I’m the father.” He said, looking down at Thea, who was still looking at the nurse with a slight indifference. As a cop and SEAL, Steve picked up on it quickly, but Nurse Amanda, as the woman just introduced herself, didn’t seem to notice the sudden change. 

“Alrighty then, well, let’s get started and see how your little one is doing.” She pulled the monitor over to her. “Lift your shirt up to your chest.” She motioned to Thea. “I’m going to put some gel on, fair warning it’s a little cold.” 

Thea pulled her shirt up to right under her boobs. She glanced up at Steve who was looking like a nervous wreck. Thea couldn’t help but laugh a little bit. 

“What?” Steve asked, his eyes meeting hers for the first time since he walked into the exam room. His green eyes met her amused ones. 

“A Navy SEAL and a cop, and you look like you’re about to faint.” She giggled. 

“I prefer the term, pass out, and no I’m not. I’m fine. It’s just..” He trailed off, looking at the wand Nurse Amanda had in her hand. She pressed it to Thea’s abdomen gently and spread the blue gel around. 

Thea took Steve’s hand and squeezed it gently. This was her second ultrasound but she remembered how scared and nervous she was. “I know.” She smiled softly. They both looked over at the nurse to see her turning the monitor around for them to see. 

“Looks like the babies are doing great!” She exclaimed. 

Thea’s head snapped away from the monitor and to the nurse. “The what?” Her eyes were wide. She was having one baby, not two. 

“The babies. You’re having twins!” She looked at the shocked faces of Steve and Thea. “Did you not know?” 

“Does this look like the face of someone who knows she’s having twins?!” Thea said loudly, causing Steve to snap out of the shock he was in. This morning he found out that he was about to be a father of a child. And now two. Thea’s hand was still in his, squeezing harder and harder. 

“I’m not having twins. My last ultrasound showed ONE baby. ONE.” She said. 

The nurse moved the monitor over more so they could see. “One baby was probably well hidden behind the other, or was just not able to be seen on the screen. Let’s see,” She hit a few buttons on the screen then the sound of two rapid heartbeats came through the speakers. “There. There’s the heart beats.” 

Thea opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. Her eyes began to water up. Steve pulled one of the chairs over to sit next to her. His eyes never left the screen where he saw the two babies that Amanda had pointed out. He wrapped his other hand around his and Thea’s joined hands and lifted it to his lips, squeezing them gently. Thea squeezed back, looking over at him. She tried to hide the smile she had on her face but she couldn’t. 

“Twins would explain the all day morning sickness and the fainting spell you said you had earlier in your pregnancy. I’ll take a couple pictures for you, then the doctor will be in.” 

Steve pulled their hands away. “Fainting spell?” He questioned Thea. 

Thea used her other hand to wipe the few tears she had. “Uh, yeah. I was on my way up to my apartment one day with Mindy and I fainted outside my door. I thought it was just the heat and the long sleeved shirt I was wearing plus with how sick I had been feeling. After that Mindy kept asking if I was pregnant. A few days later I took a few tests.” She looked at Steve. He had a look on his face, a worried look. “It was only one time, I’m on my vitamins now and I’m careful about the heat.” She gave his hand another squeeze. 

Amanda said they would have the pictures for them at sign out and excused herself from the room. 

Steve and Thea sat in silence, both thinking about what just happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After typing in this POV I'm not too sure how I like it, but I wanted to get this chapter out in time. I might come back and retype it later. 
> 
> Please let me know what you guys think!! I really appreciate the feedback!


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here ya go! Please please let me know what you guys think! I'm sorry if this chapter seems kinda slow or boring, I just need to set some stuff up for future chapters. I promise to have more Steve in the next chapter too.   
> Thank you guys!

**_4 Weeks Later:_ **

**_Thea’s Apartment:_ **

**_Thea’s POV~_ **

I rolled over as much as I could to turn my alarm off when it went off at 7:00 AM. With my growing stomach, it wasn’t as easy as it used to be. When I rolled back onto my side I noticed a big lump under the covers laying at the opposite end of the bed. I smiled and scooted myself closer. 

“Hmmm… Well since no one is in bed with me this morning,” I moved closer to the lump that was now failing to hold in a giggle. “I guess I can just stretch out then.” I slowly moved my hands under the covers. When my hands were close enough I quickly wrapped them around her arms, pulling her close to me. I tickled her under her arms causing her to wiggle around and try to escape from my arms. “Gotcha!”

Nora giggled, trying to push my hands away. I knew she was trying to be careful with her movements since her feet were now curled up near my stomach. “Mama stop! It tickles!” 

I smiled and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her to lay with me. “Good morning baby.” I kissed the top of her head. “Did you sleep well?” I asked her. I let my hands run through her tangled hair. I tried to spend some time with her every morning since we were at work and school all day. By the time we get home, she's on her homework, I’m trying to get dinner and laundry together, and next thing I know it’s time for her to go to bed. And those are the days I don’t feel terrible and I’m still in bed when she joins me. 

Nora nodded and snuggled into me, moving her face down to my stomach. She, along with just about everyone else, was obsessed with it. My bump was growing more everyday. The doctor told me at my last appointment that since I was having twins, I could expect it to grow faster than if I was having a single birth. “Good morning babies.” She mumbled. “Mama? When are we going to find out if I’m having a brother or sister?” She asked. 

I continued to run my fingers through her hair. “We should know here in a couple of weeks. I’m 16 weeks right now and the doctor said I would find out at 20 weeks. Do you know how many more weeks that is?” I asked her. 

I watched her think about it for a moment before she nodded, looking up at me. “That’s 4 weeks!” She smiled. I smiled back and nodded. 

“Good job!” I looked over to glance at the clock. “We need to get a move on so we're not late.” I kissed her forehead and moved the covers off of us. “Go get dressed and brush your teeth. I’ll braid your hair while you’re eating.” I slowly get up from the bed. Even though I wasn’t as big as I was clearly going to get, it was still a struggle to move like I use to. Nora sat up in the bed and watched me. “I’m fine sweetie. Go get ready for school.” I said softly and sent her on her way. She smiled at me before dashing to her bedroom down the hall. Last week she saw me almost slip and fall while walking up the steps to my apartment. I was about to catch myself on the rails but I know it still scared her. That got me thinking again about how we needed to move before the babies got here. Not just for the trip up but also because this is only a two bedroom. I sighed thinking about how much money that was going to cost. We were just getting by as it is. If i didn’t have Steve helping with the cost of the babies, I don’t know what I’d do. I’m going to have to seriously consider taking Nora out of Sacred Heart if I want to move us to a better apartment or even think about trying to buy a home. 

I shook my head and walked to the bathroom to get ready for the day. This was all something I could sit down and think about tonight after Nora goes to bed. I quickly brush my teeth and apply my makeup. I felt great today despite what was going to happen before I could even head into my office. There was a body of a young teenage boy that turned up late last night. Mindy thinks he’s from the center so she asked me if I could come down and identify him. I was praying it wasn’t one of my boys. I left my hair down and a little messy, I’ll just throw it up in a bun when I get in the car. 

Walking back into my room I was Nora sitting on my bed, hair brush and ponytail holder in hand, like always. I went to pull my dress and jacket out of my closet. “Go to the kitchen and make yourself some cereal. When I get done getting dressed I’ll come do your hair.” I told her. She nodded and skipped out of the room. How I was blessed that she’s a morning child, I will never know. 

I quickly put my black dress on. In the last few weeks, dresses have been much more comfortable than pants. I looked in my closet and went through the 2 rows of shoes that I have. I couldn’t wear sandals, they’ll make my feet swell by the end of the day. I refused to wear heels unless it was a special occasion. I went with my red converse, they were comfortable and would dress down the black dress just enough to where I wasn’t over dressed. I grabbed my jacket and gave myself one last look in the mirror behind my bedroom door. If I felt great today, I was going to look it too. I didn’t know how many more days of being ready to get up and go I am going to get so I want to make the best of it. 

I quickly get Nora’s hair braided and put her bowl in the dishwasher while she gets her shoes on. I really need to go shopping, living off of cereal and quick ready-to-bake meals was getting old. 

After Nora was ready to go, we went down to the car hand in hand. I knew she was walking slow just for me.

**_At Sacred Heart:_ **

Luckily today the car drop off line wasn’t too hectic. Nora quickly found Grace and they ran up the steps and into the building hand in hand. I saw Rachel in her car and she pointed for me to pull into the parking lot. 

“Hey. How are you feeling today?” She asked as we both got out of our cars, me taking a bit longer than she did. 

“Oh, I’m feeling great today. I’m not sure how long it will last though.” I laughed softly. “Are we still on for lunch today? Mindy is going to join us.” 

We chatted for a few minutes and updated each other on our schedules. For my entire pregnancy so far our schedules have been synced to help each other out. She picks Nora up from school most days and keeps her until I can get off work. On days that Grace and Nora have dance and music at the youth center, I pick them up and keep them until Rachel comes to get Grace at my apartment. 

“Danny is still planning on taking the girls after the recital next week. His whole team is planning on attending. How are things with you and the Commander?” She asked, giving me a look. 

I rolled my eyes. “Nothing is happening. He checks in on me every day and asks if me or Nora need anything. I haven't seen much of him since our last doctors appointment. He and Danny picked Grace up from school one day, I talked to him very briefly but had to go inside to meet someone in the office. I swear, nothing is going on.” I told her. She seemed to have this idea that Steve and I were going to get together because I had gotten pregnant. She and Mindy both swore we had feelings for one another. Okay, yes, I liked Steve. He was attractive, he was smart, that one night we spent together was absolute heaven, but I knew he didn’t feel the same way so I wasn’t going to dwell on it until I heard it from him directly. 

Rachel rolled her eyes. “Oh please. We all see the way he looks at you, Theodora.” Now I was rolling my eyes.

“You’re one to talk.” I raised an eyebrow at her. I knew her and Stan were hanging on by a thread. Rachel admitted to me last week when I came by to get Nora the same time Danny was picking up Grace that her and Stan weren’t doing so well and that divorce was officially on the table for them. Stan was arguing with her all the time and was never home, and when he was, he would find ways to get out of doing things as a family. 

“At least I’ve admitted my feelings for my ex-husband. You’re still in denial.” She said. She was smiling at me but then gave me a serious look. “Were you meeting with the financial advisor again? Thea, I told you if you needed help with-” 

I cut her off by putting my hand on her shoulder. “Rachel, I told you, I will figure it out. I don’t want to take her out of Sacred Heart, but I make too much to qualify for a full scholarship. I’m working out a plan with administration now so hopefully I’ll have figured out by the end of the week what I’m going to do.” I said, running my hand over my bump. 

Rachel sighed and nodded. I knew she wasn’t going to give up though. “Alright. Well I will see you at lunch. I’m sure you have to get going.” We said goodbye and got back into our cars and waved again as we both drove our separate ways. 

**_At the Medical Examiner’s Office:_ **

I sighed in frustration since I wouldn’t find a hair tie in my car. 

_ ‘Damn pregnancy brain’ _

I slowly got out of the car and threw my purse strap over my shoulder. I noticed Danny’s Camaro parked a few cars down from me.  _ ’I wonder what they’re doing here. They probably have a case’  _ I thought to myself. They are cops, this wouldn’t be such an unusual place to find them. 

I walked in and went straight for Mindy’s office. I set my bag down on the chair in front of her desk and made my way towards Max’s office and lab. Mindy was coming from the opposite side and met me in the hallway. She opened her mouth to say something but before she could, Steve and Danny came around the corner. They stopped their little argument they were in the middle of when they noticed me and Mindy stopped in front of the door. Steve smiled at me. I raised my hand to stop him and Mindy before they could say anything. 

“Before you ask, I’m doing fine this morning. No morning sickness, I got 8 hours of sleep, and yes, I took my vitamins.” 

Mindy crossed her arms. “I was going to ask how Nora was, but good to know.” 

I rolled my eyes. “Nora is fine, thanks for asking.”

Steve looked at me. I could tell he wasn’t able to keep the small smile he had off his face. “Mindy says you might be able to help us with our case.” 

I looked in Mindy confused, then back at Steve. “I can?” 

Danny nodded. “Yeah, she said you might know our victim. We don’t have any ID on the kid and Dr. Shaw thinks you might know him from the youth center you work at.” 

“If you know him we were hoping you could help us find out who he hung out with, what he was doing last night.” Steve said with his arms crossed. He looked very intimidating when he was in ‘Five-0 Mode’. 

Mindy placed her hand on my arm and gently pulled me in the direction of the lab. “Come on, I know you don’t wanna be here long.” 

When we talked into the lab, my hand went over my mouth and nose quickly. I felt someone run into me from behind but before I could fall on my face for the second time in a week, two arms reached out to steady me. 

“Woah, are you okay?” Steve asked. He had his hands on my biceps and I could feel his chest pressed up against my back. 

_ ‘God that feels amazing’ _

I nodded. “Jesus Christ, what is that smell?” It smelt like someone had left open cleaning containers in here overnight and didn’t air the place out. The smell was so strong it quickly started to make me nauseous. Mindy went over to the counter and turned the fan on. I shook my head a little and started walking closer to the table. A white sheet was covering the body. Steve stayed close behind me, I could still feel the heat from his body against my back. 

Mindy walked around the table to be on the opposite side as us. “Are you ready?” She asked. 

I nodded and held my breath. Mostly because the smell was even worse the closer to the table and body that I got. Mindy lifted the sheet back and I backed up slightly from the swoosh of air that the movement of the sheet caused. Steve's hand went up to my back. 

“Are you okay?” 

“Uh, yeah. That’s Ty Flinchum. He’s one of the residents at the Center.” I said softly. I just saw this kid yesterday morning. He came into my office to talk about how he found a small part time job at a local grocery store. He was so excited to start. “How’d he die?” I asked quietly, my eyes never leaving the younger boy’s face. 

“His body was found on the beach this morning. It’s the 3rd one in a month. Max determined COD was drowning.” Mindy said, covering Ty back up. My head shot up to her as soon as she said drowning. 

“Ty couldn’t swim. He wouldn’t go anywhere near the water.” 

Steve nodded. “There were signs of a struggle. We already have a few leads.” His hand went up to squeeze my arm gently. “We’ll find who did this.” I patted his hand and gave it a squeeze back. I nodded as I started towards the door and walked out into Max’s office. Mindy followed me. 

“Are you okay?” She asked. 

“Yeah, just still feeling a little nauseous from that smell.” I leaned up against the front of the desk. Mindy came and sat next to me. 

“Well I guess we’ll just sit here until you feel better.” She said, causing us both to laugh softly. I leaned my head down on her shoulder. 

“Oh no, girl bonding. We gotta get out of here Steve.” We heard Danny say. 

Steve grinned and looked over at me as Danny dragged him out of the office. “I’ll call you later okay?” 

**_Later at Home with Thea and Nora-_ **

I sighed, and put the last of the pantry food away. “Nora Jane!” I called down the hallway. “Last time I’m going to tell you it’s time to get out of the tub!” I went back to quickly get the cold food in the refrigerator after I heard an “Okay mama” come from the hallway. 

At lunch today I had a long talk with Mindy and Rachel about how I was going to balance work, Nora, and these two babies. They both had agreed to help out with Nora as much as they could since I was going to have to start working more to afford a new place, Nora’s school, and just the general cost of the babies. And I’m not even thinking about the time I’m going to have to take off from work once they’re actually here. They both cornered me about helping pay for Nora’s school tuition. I finally caved and said I would think about it, but I wasn't comfortable accepting something like that from anyone. It’s been just me and Nora her whole life. I’ve been her primary provider since day one. Letting someone in to help like that isn’t easy for me. But at this point, I don’t think I will have much of a choice. 

When I was done putting the rest of the groceries away, I got to work at making an easy meal for Nora for dinner. I wasn’t too hungry at the moment so it was just going to be fast. Nora came into the kitchen, her hair wet and in her Lilo & Stitch PJs. She climbed up into one of the bar chairs and watched me put her chicken nuggets in the oven. “How does mac and cheese and green beans sound baby?” 

She nodded and gave me a ran down of her day while I got her food together. “Grace told me her Uncle Steve is teaching her how to surf so maybe we can go surfing together some time!” 

I nodded, putting her plate of food in front of her. “Yeah, I think that would be really fun for you girls. Maybe when we have some weekend time free we can go.” I said. I had Nora surfing with me since she could stand on the board. I thought it was really sweet that Steve was teaching Grace how to surf. I had heard from him and Rachel both that Danny hated the beach. 

While I was cleaning up the dishes there was a knock at the door. I told Nora to keep eating her dinner when she started to get down from the chair to race to the door. She pouted and got back in her seat. 

I was shocked to see Steve standing in my doorway. I opened the door wider. “Oh, Hey.” I smiled. “Uhm, what are you doing here?” 

He smiled and shifted on his feet. Again, a Navy SEAL and a cop and he still gets nervous. “I was in the neighborhood with Danny following a lead and wanted to check in with you. Wanted to see if you guys needed anything.” 

My heart could stop right now. “Thank you-” “Steve!” Nora screaming interrupted me. She came barreling from behind me and launched herself into Steve's arms. My arms immediately went out to catch her incase Steve didn’t. He barely budged from his place when he caught her midair. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a big hug. She was very fond of the man, not that I can blame her. I’m pretty fond of him too. 

He laughed and hugged her back. “Hi Nora. How are you?” 

Nora leaned back to face him. “I’m good. Mama said that Grace and I can go surfing soon since you taught her how to.” She said matter-of-factly. I crossed my arms and leaned up against the door frame and watched them talk about surfing. Steve told her that he will take her out soon since I wasn’t able to go right now. It warmed my heart to see how he interacted with her. 

_ ‘He’s going to be a really good dad’ _

I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry Nora, but it’s time to brush your teeth and get into bed.” She pouted as Steve set her down. He ran his hand over her wet hair. 

“I’ll see you soon okay? Goodnight Nora.” He smiled at her. 

“Goodnight Steve!” She waved and bounced her way down the hall. I giggled at her excitement and knew she was going to be a nightmare to put down now that she was all riled up, but I wasn’t mad. I turned to look at Steve. 

“So I wanted to come check on you, but I also wanted to know if you were free Friday night. The team is coming over to cookout at my place, Danny is bringing Grace, and Mindy and Max are coming so I wanted to invite you and Nora.” He said, running his hand over the back of his neck like a nervous teenager, which I couldn’t help but grin at. “My other team members are begging to meet you. But I understand if you’re busy-” 

“I would love to. We’ll be there. Do I need to bring anything?” 

Steve shook his head. “No, just you and Nora. Maybe a swimsuit, I have a private beach in my backyard.” 

My eyes widened. “Wow, if you weren’t Nora’s favorite person before, you definitely will be when she sees that.” I laughed. That got a loud laugh out of Steve too. I could also see his cheeks getting a little red. 

_ ‘You’re not just Nora’s favorite person’  _


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is super long, so I apologize in advance lol. I’m hoping to still have the next chapter up next week, but I won’t has as much free time to write at work like normally do. Please enjoy and let me know what you think!

****_ FRIDAY NIGHT  
STEVE MCGARRETT’S HOME  
STEVE’S POV:  _

“See, Gracie? You have to wait 4 minutes before you flip it, or it doesn’t get cooked on both sides.” I said, flipping one of the burgers over. She nodded that she understood, her arms wrapped around my neck to hold on since I had her up on my hip so she could see the grill better. We were just waiting on Thea and Nora to arrive, so I went ahead and started the food and asked Grace to be my helper. 

Mindy, Kono, and Max were in the kitchen getting the rest of the food together. Danny walked up behind me, nudging me in the shoulder and holding his arms out for Grace. She grinned and jumped into her dad’s arms. “Are you teaching my daughter the incorrect way to grill a burger?” 

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, Daniel.” I said sarcastically. I flipped another burger and glanced back at Danny’s girlfriend that he brought with him today, Kari. “So, how is Kari doing?” She was nice, blonde, and a paralegal. She seemed to get on with all of us just fine, minus Grace. Which, in my mind, was more important than her being friendly with us. It was very obvious that Grace wasn’t a fan of the woman. She had stuck with me for the whole hour that she’d been here already and had already asked me 4 times when Nora was going to come. Kari didn’t seem to be that big of a fan of Grace either. She gave Grace an indifferent smile when she became the center of attention, and with our group, that was quite a lot. We all loved that little girl. Overall, I wasn’t too impressed with her and was sure Danny and I were going to talk about it tonight when everyone went home. 

Danny shrugged. “She’s fine. She’s enjoying getting to know you guys.” I saw Grace roll her eyes and push away from her dad to be let down. I knew bringing up Kari around Grace like that probably wasn’t the best idea. Danny set her down and she immediately made her way back up to the house. Thankfully, he didn’t see her eye roll. 

“I’m going to wait for Auntie Thea.” She said. 

Before I had a chance to say it, Danny took a step closer to me. “Grace doesn’t like Kari.” He said quietly. 

I tried my best to hold back a laugh. “I could have told you that, buddy.” 

Danny sighed and smoothed his hair down. “God, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I mean, Kari is nice but Grace means more to me. She knew I had a kid and she just isn’t that interested in getting to know her.” He glanced over at the table I had set up across the yard where Kari was sitting with Malia, Chin, Adam, and Charlie. I felt bad for Danny. He had always told me that dating with a kid was difficult, but I had never seen him really struggle with it. It made me think about what it would be like with two kids. I tried to think about it but really the only person I wanted to be with was already having my kids. Since I found out that Thea was pregnant and we were spending some time together and we were talking more, I’ve really come to like and care about her than just the mother of my unborn children. And Nora has become really special to me like Grace has. I did invite her because the team wanted to meet her, but I also wanted her to get to know them like I know them. If I was gonna try and pursue this with her, I wanted all my ohana to get along. 

“Danno! Uncle Steve! Nora is here! Look! We’re matching!” Grace and Nora came running out of the house hand in hand. They were both wearing the same romper outfit over their bathing suits, but Nora was wearing navy and Grace was in army green. 

Danny and I both smiled at the two girls. “My two favorite girls, wearing my two favorite colors!” I said, scooping them both up into my arms causing them to giggle loudly. I looked up to see Thea walking out the back door with Mindy and Kono who were carrying bowls of food out. I smiled at her. She had on a blue and white polka dot dress. She smiled over at me, her eyebrows raising slightly when she saw me holding up both girls. I couldn’t help but grin at her. I loved watching her smile and seeing the dimples on her cheeks. 

_‘God, she looks amazing’_

“Can we go play in the sand?” Nora asked, staring over at the beach. I remembered Thea telling me she loved the water. I set both girls down and handed the spatula to Danny to finish manning the grill. 

“We’re about to eat so I’ll tell you what,” I said, looking at them. “After we eat, I’ll take you both out into the water. That way Danno doesn’t have to get his hair wet.” The girls giggled when Danny smacked me in the arm. 

“Hey, it takes a lot of product to make it look this good.” He claimed. 

Thea, Mindy and Kono walked to us. Nora quickly started to tell her mom about how we were going to go swimming after we eat. Thea smiled at the little girl who was practically bouncing. “That sounds great baby.” 

Mindy and Kono set their bowls down on the table that was set up for the food. “Alright that’s all of it boss. Let us know when to come make our plates.” Kono nodded. Mindy made her way back to the table with Nora while Kono linked arms with Thea and led her over to the group over at the table. I remembered Thea telling me that she and Kono went to high school together. It comforted me a little bit that not everyone here was a complete stranger to her. 

I watched them walk to the table and Kono started to introduce her to everyone. She had a smile on her face the whole time and took a seat right next to Malia. My family felt complete watching everyone sit and have fun together. 

I must have been staring for a bit because when I looked at Danny after he obnoxiously cleared his throat, he had the burgers on a plate and was setting them on the food table. “Stare some more, I don’t think she noticed.” 

“Shut up.” 

“Seriously. Maybe it’s time to thaw your heart and tell her you want to be with her.” Danny said, grabbing two paper plates. He handed me one. “Alright Super Seal. It’s time for your Dad Training.” 

“My what?”

“Your Dad Training.” He said. “You’re about to have not just one but two babies you’re responsible for. On top of that you’re practically in love with a woman who has a 7-year-old.” 

“Hey-” 

“So, do what I do and make Nora’s plate for Thea. The girls are going to eat at the table up on the lanai.” He gestured for me to copy him. 

“This is ridiculous.” I sighed but started to make the plate like he was. “I’m going to assume you know what Nora likes to eat.” 

He nodded. “She’ll basically eat everything but she’s allergic to onions. So, don’t put her food anywhere near onions.” He filled up the plate with a burger, plain with ketchup, mac and cheese, salad, beans, and the fruit salad. I did the same, quickly avoiding the small plate of onions that was set out for people to put on their burgers. I glanced up at Danny. 

“Should these even be out?” I didn’t want to risk her eating them and something happening. I think Danny noticed my small moment of panic and placed his hand on my shoulder. 

“No, idiot, she’s not going to go into anaphylactic shock by looking at them. She just can’t eat them or anything they’ve contaminated. She’s good about avoiding them or telling people she can’t eat them. Thea and Rachel both did give me a big speech about it the first time I had her over for a sleepover with Grace though. She always has an epi-pen when she isn’t with Thea- so get that nervous look off your face, it’s fine.” He handed me one of the plastic forks and turned to look over at the table. “Gracie, Nora! Come on time to eat, guys!” 

The crowd was laughing as they made their way over to the food table. Danny and I went and set the girls plates on the smaller table closer to the house. Grace has pretty much claimed it as her table anytime she is over. There were marks all over it from craft projects she had done on it. “Grace, go show Nora where the juice boxes are. When we get done and clean up, we can go for a swim, okay?” I said to her and watched them run off into the house. 

Danny rushed off to go make his plate with Kari as Thea walked up behind me. “Her burger doesn’t have onions on it does it?” She asked. She had that same nervous look on her face I’m sure I had a few moments ago. 

“No no, Danny told me she’s allergic. I just put ketchup on it.” I said softly. 

She looked a little shocked but smiled softly at me. “Thank you for making her plate.” 

_‘Damn that smile will be the death of me’_

I put my arm around her shoulders casually. “Let’s go eat before our friends eat all the food.” 

She laughed and nodded. We made our plates and sat next to each other at the large table. I noticed she constantly had a hand on her stomach, almost like she was nervous. Kono quickly pulled her into the conversation she was having with Malia and Charlie. 

“Thea used to surf with us in high school. She could have totally been pro if she wanted.” Kono said. 

Thea laughed. “Yeah, I don’t think so. I was good, but nowhere pro level.” 

Mindy shrugged. “I don’t know, T. You definitely could have taken on Kalakaua.” She teased, causing Kono to throw the cap of her Longboard at her. I leaned back and watched the girls interact. Danny was having a semi-private with Kari. I couldn’t hear them, but I could tell from the look on his face he was upset, and Kari didn’t have a care in the world. I gave him a look, asking if he was alright. He just rolled his eyes and shook his head. He and Grace have that eye roll down pat. By the time we had both turned back to the group, the topic had changed. 

“Oh, trust me, Danny has several things to say about Steve’s crazy behavior.” Chin laughed as he drank his beer. 

“Crazy how?” Thea asked, turning to look at me and then over at Danny. I looked at Danny, silently asking him not to tell her anything but he ignored me. 

“Oh, this crazy bastard got me shot our first day working together.” Danny said extremely calmly. 

“You what!” Thea exclaimed, her eyes wide looking at me.

“Hey, I apologized! It was just an arm graze.” I said, putting my hands up to defend myself. “You were fine, you even punched me in the face.” 

“Yeah that was after you put me in an arm lock!” 

“Danny it was over a year ago, get over it.” 

“I-” I cut Danny off by changing the subject. 

“Anyway, anything else to talk about that doesn’t revolve around me?” I said, whacking Danny in the arm. 

Malia spoke up. “So, do you guys know what you’re having yet?” 

Thea and I both shook our heads. “No, we might find out in 3 weeks. Our last appointment the doctor said if they’re in the right position we should be able to tell.” Thea said while she stroked her stomach. 

“Are you planning on having a gender reveal?” Kono asked. I gave a confused look. 

“A what?” 

“It’s where the expecting parents invite friends and loved ones to find out the gender of the baby, or in your case, babies, after the ultrasound. Typically, the parents don’t know either. It usually involves a mild, but colorful powder explosive or a pink or blue cake.” Max piped up from the end of the table. 

“Jesus, why’d you have to say explosive?” Danny shook his head. 

Thea looked at me and then Kono. “Uh, we haven’t really thought about it.” 

“Do you want to do something like that?” I asked her. 

She nodded. “I think it’d be fun, if you’re up for doing it.” 

“Oh, he’s always ready to blow something up.” Danny chimed in. I rolled my eyes and told him to shut it. “Rachel and I did a cake for Grace’s gender reveal. White icing and a strawberry cake since it was a girl.” 

“Maybe we could make two smaller cakes. One for baby A and one for baby B.” Mindy smiled. 

“My aunt makes cakes for gender reveal parties all the time at her bakery, I’m sure she could do two for you.” Kono said. Thea just looked at me with a smile on her face. 

“What do you think?” She asked me. I had never done anything like this, or even heard of anyone doing it. 

I shrugged, leaning back in my seat. “It sounds like it could be fun. If you want to do something, we can.” I smiled at her. She turned to Mindy. 

“Alright but you have to plan it.” She laughed. The conversation moved on while we continued to eat. Max went into a long explanation about his fossil collection before Danny interrupted him. Despite my trying to keep the conversation off the “dangerous” things I do for work, the team ended up telling more stories about me. I was nervous she was gonna get scared off by some of them. We did have a long conversation about my line of work and what it entails. I wasn’t gonna be home the same time every single night, I was going to be in danger, and I could get called in at any moment. She told me that she understood and as long as I was making an effort to be there, that was good enough for her. I had gotten a better understanding of her childhood out of that conversation too. Her and Nora’s father was almost never around, and their mom was checked out. I had gotten a bit more information from Mindy about her background. Thea basically had Nora from the moment she was born. Her mom was incapable of raising her and Thea didn’t trust her to raise another baby. Her mother gladly handed her off to Thea. I lost my mother at a young age, but to know she was physically here and not involved would have killed me, I couldn’t even imagine that. 

After everyone was finished eating, the table was cleaned up and the food was put away. Everyone went on with their activities. Max, Charlie, and Chin were sitting and drinking longboards. Malia, Kari, and Kono were gathered around the fire pit that Danny had started up even though it wasn’t dark yet. I had gotten Grace and Nora ready to go in the water. Danny was standing about knee deep in, refusing to join us any farther than that. Mindy and Thea were sitting in the sand. They had both shed their clothes to sit in their bathing suits. It took everything in me to keep my eyes off of Thea and focus on the two 7-year old’s demanding my attention. I swam around in the water with the girls for a while, enjoying the intense game of Marco Polo they started and teasing Danny about not wanting to come join us.

Later after it got dark, everyone was gathered around the bonfire. I guess I wore the girls out because Grace was asleep in Danny’s lap and Nora was asleep, curled up at my side. I had my arm over her to keep her from slipping off the bench we were sitting on. Thea was on my other side, my arm over the back of the bench behind her. It felt nice having them both this close to me. 

“Jeez Steve, you really wore them out.” Danny said, looking down at his daughter. 

Thea shrugged. “It’ll make bedtime easier for Rachel, that’s for sure.” She said, yawning herself. Both their phones pinged at the same time. “Speaking of, I guess she’s here.” Danny got up, still cradling a sleeping Grace in his arms. He walked up the house. Kari followed behind him. Thea stood up and looked like she was about to take Nora from me. I shook my head and stopped her. 

“I can carry her for you.” I said. I stood up and gently placed the sleeping girl on my chest, her head resting on my shoulder. Her arms came up and wrapped around my neck. 

“Are you sure?” She asked, looking a little nervous. I wanted her to know that I wasn’t scared of kids, and that I didn’t care that she already had a kid. Again, I was thinking about the comments that Danny had made about dating with a kid. 

I nodded. “Yeah, I got her. You don’t need to be carrying her anyway.” 

We walked out to the front of the house. Danny was putting Grace in the backseat. Kari and Rachel looked like they were having a stare down. Thea sighed. 

“Here we go.” I heard her mumble before looking at me. “There’s already a booster seat in the back for her, if you’ll put her in, I’ll buckle her up.” 

“I can do it.” I said, but quickly realized how demanding that probably sounded to her. “I mean, if it’s okay with you, so you don’t have to bend down-” 

“It’s fine, Steve.” She put a hand on my arm and smiled gently at me. “I just don’t want you to feel like you have to.” Her eyes glanced down at her hand. 

I took my hand that was on Nora’s back and put it on hers, squeezing gently. “Look, Thea, I don’t care to help out. With Nora or anything you need, okay?” 

She squeezed back and nodded; her eyes looked like they were watering up but she turned away before I could really see. She went over to Rachel while I carefully placed Nora in her booster seat. Danny stayed bent down in the car to show me how to maneuver the seatbelt. I was shocked at how easy it was. 

“Oh, don’t go thinking you’re a pro just yet, booster seats are easy. Just wait until you’re trying to put a squirming baby in a car seat with multiple straps and buckles.” He said, kissing Grace’s head and closing her door. 

“You’re really helping calm my nerves about this Danny.” 

“It’s what I do best.” 

**_ Thea’s POV: _ **

I went up to Rachel and gave her a hug. I knew she and Stan were going to talk about a divorce tonight, that’s why Grace was with Danny this afternoon. I wasn’t sure if she exactly told Danny what her plans were though. 

“I told him.” She whispered. I could tell she had been crying recently. “I told him and here I am having a staring contest with Danny’s girlfriend.” She rubbed her eyes with the sleeves of her sweater. 

I rubbed her arms soothingly. “It’s gonna be okay.” I tried to comfort her. “We can talk more about it tomorrow after the apartment showing.” Rachel and I were finally going to look at some new apartments and condos for me and Nora. She nodded, sniffling as she gave me a hug. I pulled back to look at her. “Are you gonna be okay with the girls tonight? I don’t care to take them if you need to be alone tonight.” 

She shook her. “No, I’ll be fine. I think some time with them might be what I need. Stan packed a bag and left after we argued, so he won’t be home.” 

I walked to the car to kiss Nora bye even though she was still asleep. 

“Are you okay?” Danny asked her. He probably saw how upset she was. I glanced over at Kari then looked at Steve. It was obvious he picked up on the anger radiating off of the blonde woman. 

“I’m fine Daniel. I’ll call you next week.” She said shortly and got in her car. The four of us stood and watched her drive off. Kari stormed off to her car, Danny quickly following her. We could hear the argument starting so we headed back to the backyard. 

“I’m gonna say bye to everyone and head home.” I told him. “Rachel and I are going to look at apartments tomorrow.” 

“You’re moving?” He asked, holding the back gate open for me. 

“Yeah, my apartment is only two bedrooms and the stairs up to it are starting to kill me.” I laughed. He looked at me like he wanted to say something. “What?” 

“Oh, nothing. Just let me know if you need any help.” He said, giving me a smile. “I know you’re not incapable of doing things yourself and I’m sorry if I’ve made it seem that way. I just want to be able to help.” 

I stopped walking and put my hand on his arm to stop him. “I know, and I really appreciate it. Just going to appointments with me and helping me with the doctors’ bills has helped more than you know. I promise I’m not over doing it.” I told him seriously. “Also quit listening to Danny about how scary pregnancy is.” I laughed. Steve laughed too, shaking his head. 

“Yeah, Danny has been giving me advice.” He chuckled. 

“Yeah, that Dad Training advice might come in handy though.” I giggled and walked towards the group. Everyone looked like they were getting ready to go. I heard Steve groan behind me. 

“Oh, God. You heard that!” 

After saying goodbye to everyone and giving a round of hugs, Steve walked me out to my car. 

“Thank you for inviting us tonight.” I said. 

He grinned at me. “I’m glad you had a good time. You and Nora are welcome here any time. I know she absolutely loved the beach, just like you said.” 

I laughed. “Oh, yes, she’s my water baby for sure.” I got in my car and Steve closed my door for me. “Let me know when you get home, okay?” I nodded and waved as I pulled out and headed toward my apartment. 

After my 10-minute drive, I parked and went to check the mail before slowly climbing the stairs to the apartment. I looked through the mail as I closed and locked my door. A large yellow envelope caught my eye. I set all my things down on the bar in the kitchen and opened it. 

**_Peter Kenwood, Plaintiff_ **

**_Theodora Kenwood, Defendant_ **

**_Petition for Change of Custody_ **

My breath caught in my throat. I reached for my phone and my first thought was to call Mindy. _‘No, she’s going home with Charlie tonight.’_ My next thought was to call Rachel. _‘She has the girls, I can’t push this on her too’_ I braced myself on the bar and sat down, dialing the number on my phone. 

“Hey, did you make it home?” Steve asked me after he answered. I was silent, trying not to let my tears fall. As soon as I opened my mouth to speak, they fell anyway. 

“Can you come over?” My voice broke. 

I heard some shuffling on the other end. “Thea, what’s wrong?” He asked, concerned. 

“I-I just really need you.” 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is not what I wanted, but I'm not too sorry about how it planned out. I'm sorry it's so short but I wanted to try and get back on a schedule after last week. I had no kids at work so I was on office duty all week and had absolutely no time to write. I got this out in two days so go easy on me lol. Please enjoy this chapter though! It's nothing but Steve and Thea :)

**_ Thea’s POV:  _ **

I could stop the tears falling the entire time I waited for Steve. I moved from the bar to the couch and stared at the papers in front of me. My father wants custody of Nora. After all these years, he’s deciding now to be a father. He has some nerves. I glanced over at the pictures on the wall of me and Nora throughout the years. The memories I had made with her, the childhood she had because of me. I did everything in my power to give her a childhood, something I didn’t have myself. I made sure she was able to be a kid and didn’t have to take care of anyone like I did. I never cared that she wasn’t biologically my daughter. She was MY baby. I raised her. Not him or anyone else, it was me. This can’t be happening right now. 

A loud knock came from my front door. “Thea!” 

I slowly got off the couch and rushed to the door. As soon as the door was open, I wrapped my arms around him tightly. I had never hugged him before, but God, I’m going to start hugging him now. He arms wrapped around me instantly and moved me farther into the house. I heard the door close behind him. It felt so calming being held by him. 

His hands rubbed my back soothingly as his head rested on mine. “What happened?” He asked quietly. 

I buried my face in his chest. “He’s going to take her from me.” I sobbed. Steve pulled back and looked down at me. He kept his arms wrapped around me. 

“Who’s taking who from you?” He followed me to the living room. I picked up the papers and handed them to him. He studied them for a moment before looking at me. “Whose Peter Kenwood?” He asked. 

I lowered myself onto the couch. Steve reached out and helped me down before sitting next to me. “He’s mine and Nora’s... Father. If you even want to call him that.” I wiped my eyes. “He hasn’t even seen Nora, never even protested when I got custody the first time but now, he wants to have full custody of her!” The sadness has passed now, and I was angry. How could my ‘father’ do this to me? How the hell does he think he is? Well, I know who he is. 

Steve continued to read through the papers. “This is just a petition to change custody. No decision is being made just yet.” He said. He grabbed my hand and squeezed it gently. I was starting to notice that little squeezed like that was something he did often. Like he did it as a reassurance that he was here.

I looked up at him, his green eyes staring directly into mine. “She’s not going anywhere. No one is going to let him take her from you. _I’m_ not going to let him take her from you.” 

Another tear slipped down my cheek as he said it. “He has a lot of friends and business associates… He might win.” With my elbow propped on the back of the couch, pressed my forehead against my palm. “He has enough money to get a whole team of lawyers, I can’t even afford one.” I groaned. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to dump all this on you.” Steve wiped my tears away with his thumb as he cupped my cheek. 

“That’s why I’m here, Thea.” 

I shook my head and looked up at him. “I just don’t know what to do. She’s MY daughter, Steve. I can’t lose her.” The anger was coming back. I blame the pregnancy for the mood swings. 

“Between you and Five-0, he won’t stand a chance of getting her, okay?” He pulled me close to him, kissing the top of my head. “Just let me do some digging around.” 

God, having him hold me felt amazing. I had dreamed about this for weeks, not exactly having imagined it like this though. Having to comfort me in a situation like this was not something I thought I would be going through right now. I wrapped my arms around his middle and leaned into him. He kept his arms around me as he put the papers back in the envelope and tossed them on the coffee table. He leaned back onto the couch, never letting go of me. We sat there together for a few minutes, neither of us saying anything. I turned my head slightly, so my forehead was against his shoulder. Steve had his head leaned down on mine. Almost as if he were enjoying having me in his arms like I was. 

“I’m sorry I pulled you away from the party.” I said quietly. I still didn’t trust my voice to not break down again. 

He shook his head again. “You didn’t. Everyone left a few minutes after you did.” He paused for a moment. His hand was still running up and down my back. It hasn’t really stopped since he got here. The hand traveled up to my shoulder and squeezed gently. “I would have come anyway.” He whispered into my hair. 

I couldn’t keep the slight smile off my face even if I tried. I sat up a little bit to look at him, our faces were just a few inches apart. “Thank you for coming.” I whispered. 

He smiled softly at me. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” 

Before I could stop myself, I pressed my lips to his. I felt Steve move slightly and I quickly backed up and got off the couch. 

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry! I did not mean to do that!” Steve stood up from the couch and reached for my arm.

“Thea-” I pulled out of the reach and headed to the kitchen. 

“I’m sorry.” I mumbled. I leaned against the bar and put my head in my hands. _‘What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you do that! He doesn’t see you like that! You’re the mother of his children.’_ I groaned and tried to keep my tears back. _‘He probably thinks you’re hormonal’_. I didn’t look up at Steve when he walked into the kitchen. I bet the look on his face was the serious aneurysm face that Grace talked about. I fucked up big time. He came up right behind me, his hand on my arm light, like he expected me to pull away from him.

“Thea, please look at me.”

I hesitantly turned around and looked up at him. “Look, I’m sorry. That was inappro-” I was cut off by him cupping the back of my neck and pulling me to him. His lips pressed against mine a bit rougher than the first time, holding me close to him. I put my hands up on his chest to push him back, but I couldn’t. I melted into the kiss, my hands moving up his chest to wrap around his neck. His other arm moved down my back and around my waist. He pulled me as close as he could with my bump in the way. Before I had a chance to deepen the kiss, he pulled away, but didn’t let go of me. Our foreheads are still touching, and I could still feel his breath on my face. My eyes were still closed. I was scared that if I opened them, he was going to push me away.

His thumb stroked my cheek gently. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a few weeks now.” He whispered.

One of my hands moved to his wrist and squeezed gently. “Don’t do that if you don’t mean it.” 

He kissed me again but pulled away before I could react to it. I finally opened my eyes to see him looking down at me. “I mean it, okay? I’ve wanted to tell you for the last two weeks, but I didn’t know how, as cheesy and cliche as that sounds. I like and care about you, Thea.” He said, looking me in the eyes. “I know the situation we’re in right now isn’t exactly normal,” His hand went to my stomach. He only touched my bump once when I felt one of the babies move. We had tried to see if he would be able to feel it, but he couldn’t. I was hoping in the next few weeks he’d finally be able to feel them move like I had been. “But I want to be with you.” He said. He leaned in and kissed my cheek. 

I took a deep breath and tried, for the umpteenth time tonight, to keep the tears from falling. _‘Goddamn pregnancy hormones’_ I pushed away from him a bit so I could look at him. “Steve, I want to be with you too, but it isn’t just me I need to worry about.” He nodded in understanding. “Nora is the most important person in my life. I need you to know and understand that before anything can happen. I’m always going to choose my kids over anything else.” Most guys tended to run off after I made that confession. Though I was never sure if it was the kid part or the not coming in first on my list of priorities, that scared them away. I didn’t think that it would scare Steve away. He _is_ about to have twins. But I knew it was something that still needed to be said. 

He nodded again. “I know. I know how important Nora is to you. Honestly, she’s become important to me too. She’s a great kid and I…” He took my hand again, holding it close to him. “I want you both.” 

I smiled, walking closer and looking up at him. _‘How have I not noticed how much taller he is?’_

“Well, luckily for you, we’re both pretty fond of you.” I grinned. He leaned down to kiss me, but we were interrupted by my phone going off. I pulled away from him. “That’s probably Rachel.” I said. I walked into the living room and picked up my phone. 

“Hey Rach.” I sat on the sofa. 

**_ Steve’s POV: _ **

I couldn’t help but grin to myself as I watched her walk to the living room. I spent the last few weeks going over and over about how I was going to tell her I had feelings for her, only to have _her_ kiss _me_. I really didn’t see that coming, but I knew that I should have. Danny had been telling me that I was freaking out over nothing and that I was doing what I always did when feelings were involved. I was panicking. _‘You need to thaw out your heart sometimes and let people in’_ Is what he’s been telling me since I met him. Between my family issues and my life in the military letting people in like that was somewhat foreign to me. But after this with Thea, I wasn’t as scared anymore. 

I glanced around at the kitchen. I had only been inside her apartment a few times. Once when I helped Thea carry groceries up. _‘She doesn’t need to be doing that on her own, not while she’s pregnant_ ’ And once when I sat with Nora for a few minutes while Thea was getting her bag ready to spend the night at Danny’s. It was a cute place, but like she said earlier, not big enough for her, Nora, and two babies. As I looked around, I smiled at the pictures of her and Nora she had on the fridge. There was no way I was going to let someone, biological parent or not, take Nora away from her. It was clear to anyone that saw them together that Thea was her parent, not Peter Kenwood. 

I looked into the living room and smiled again at Thea. She was telling Nora goodnight. 

“Good night baby. I’ll see you in the morning okay?” She said softly, smiling as she talked. 

I knew from here on that these were my girls. I wasn’t going to let anyone take them away from me. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think! I'm currently writing the next chapter so hopefully it'll be up soon. I already have the twins named picked out, I'm hoping you guys like them. If you have any ideas for the gender reveal I would love to hear them!


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, I just have to say I'm SO SO SO SO SORRY for how long it took to get this chapter up. I had work, Halloween, 3 birthdays (including my own) and I had to move classrooms, which I am just now settling into. I've always had time to write at work and at home, but this past month just hasn't been cooperating with me. I know this one is short, but I've been dying to make an update, so you guys don't think I've completely abandoned you, because I didn't! 
> 
> I know this chapter is short a maybe a little boring, but the next chapter is underway, and I hope to have it up by next weekend before I go on my trip. 
> 
> Thank you guys so much again!

Following Day  
Steve McGarrett's House  
Steve’s POV:

I dropped my keys on the table as I walked through the front door. Shutting and locking the door behind me, I went into the kitchen to see Danny drinking coffee and making pancakes. I saw his car in the driveway when I pulled in, so I knew he was here.

“Whatcha doin’ here, Danno? I thought you and Kari would be having breakfast this morning. Not that I’m complaining, pancakes look good.” I said as I poured myself a cup of coffee and pulled the butter out of the fridge.

“Yeah well you aren’t going to get any if you keep putting butter in your damn coffee.” He said. I could tell he was pissed off. I stayed silent for a moment to see if he’d continue.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked.

He sighed and flipped a pancake. “I broke up with Kari.”

“Oh... I’m sorry man.” I leaned back against the counter and watched him work. “Again, not that I’m complaining, but why are you here and not at your place?”

“Better question, why weren’t you here when I got here?” He shot me a look. I rolled my eyes. Truth was, after Thea got off the phone with Nora, she and I fell asleep on her couch. We stayed up for a while and talked about nothing in particular. She told me some stories from her childhood, and I told her about my time in the Navy, whatever I was able to tell her. We agreed last night that we need to take this thing between us at a slow pace. We’re about to become parents so we need to be careful with how we do this. I shrugged my shoulders.

“I was with Thea last night.” I said simply and took a drink of my coffee. I moved to grab some pancakes when Danny lifted the plate and moved it out of arm's reach for me.

“You were where?”

“I was with Thea, okay? She got some bad news and needed someone to talk to so I went over and we fell asleep on the couch. Now give me a damn pancake.”

“All you did was sleep?” He asked.

“Yes, dammit. Give me the plate.” I said, leaning over the kitchen island to grab the plate from him.

He shook his head and set the plate down. He turned back to the stove to put more batter in the pan. “Don’t eat all of them. Rachel is dropping Grace off here in a bit when they get done looking at apartments with Thea.”

I nodded and made myself a plate. “Rachel’s been pretty generous with your time with Grace recently. Anything up with that?”

He shrugged and flipped the pancakes. “I don’t know. She hasn’t been fighting with me at all recently. I’m starting to think her, and Stan are planning on moving again. They acted just like this before she told me she was moving my daughter across a whole country.”

“She can’t move her again. This is Grace’s home and your home, no matter how much you hate it here.” I said. Despite Danny’s feelings about the state of Hawaii, I knew he could never leave the family that he has found here with Five-0. It would never be the same without Danny or Grace.

Danny turned around and opened his mouth to say something. I knew exactly what he was about to say, so I beat him to it. “I know, Danno. You don’t have to explain it to me.”

About an hour later, after I had gone on my swim and my run, Grace was dropped off and was trying to convince me and Danny we needed to go to Kamekona’s.  
“Monkey, you just had breakfast an hour ago, let’s wait a little bit.” Danny explained. He and I were sitting on the couch watching a football game. Mostly it was me trying to pay attention to the game while Danny made comments and yelled at the tv the whole time. Grace was up at the table coloring. This was a normal Saturday routine for us. Sometimes Grace was here, sometimes she wasn’t. Other times the rest of the team joined us. After the crazy week we’ve had a work with the murder case we’re been on for a while, it’s nice to be able to sit down and relax.

“Thea asked me about Ty’s case. I feel bad not being able to tell her anything.” I said, taking a swig of my beer.

“Well you’ve got to know something to be able to tell her.” Danny said, glancing up at Grace who was in her own little world coloring. “This is the 3rd drowning victim found at that dock. All showing the same signs of a struggle, once we’re able to pinpoint where the bodies came before they washed up, it’ll narrow down the search. We’ll find them Steve.”

I nodded, turning back to the TV. “Yeah, yeah I know. I just don’t want there to be another body before we're able to get a lead.”

Danny’s phone started to ring from the kitchen. Grace got up and dashed to the other room. “I got it, I got it!”

Danny rolled his eyes. We both knew it wasn’t going to be work, they would have called me first. “I swear if it’s Rachel telling me she’s gonna pick her up soon, I might actually throw myself into the ocean.”

“You realize most people would actually enjoy that right?”

“Shut up.”

“Danno, it’s Auntie Thea.” Grace said, coming into the living room and holding the phone out to Danny. Danny and I gave each other a weird look. Why would she be calling Danny?

“Any arguments I need to know about?” Danny asked as he took the phone from Grace. I rolled my eyes and swatted his arm, trying to leave a mark.

“Answer the damn phone.” I said.

Thea’s POV:

“Why do we have to move?” Nora asked me for the 10th time this morning. I’ve had this conversation with her about 5 times in the last week. She doesn’t want to move from our little apartment, the only home she’s ever had. I’ve lived there since I left my mother’s house when I was 18. When Nora was born, she lived with my mother for about 3 weeks, then I moved her in with me. Since I was the only one taking care of her, it made more sense to have her with me instead of me traveling back and forth every day. Julia, my mother, never objected to it. She had Nora’s things packed up and waiting for me when I told her I was coming to get her. The next time I saw her was at her funeral a few months later.

“Because sweetie, our place is too small for two more babies, so we need to find a bigger place to fit everyone.” I said, glancing back at her in the rearview mirror. She was leaning back in her booster seat, staring out the window. She turned her head and looked at me in the mirror.

“Is Steve going to live with us?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but quickly closed it when I didn’t have anything to say. Steve and I had never really talked about what was going to happen after I had the twins. He would want to be close to them, right? Where would they stay? You couldn’t move newborn's back and forth like that could you? Why did it take my 7-year-old to make me realize these things?

“Uhm, I don’t know babe. I’ll have to talk to Steve about it.” I left it at that. I really did need to have a conversation with Steve about it. After last night, I feel better about sitting down and having this conversation with him. It was obvious that we both wanted to spend more time together, so finding a schedule that worked for all of us wouldn’t be too difficult.

“Since he’s going to be the new baby's daddy, does that mean he’s going to be-” She was cut off by my cell phone ringing. I quickly answered it, knowing full well what Nora’s question was about to be, but I didn’t have it in me to answer it right now.

I glanced down quickly to see it was Rachel before I held it up to my ear.

“Hey Rach, what’s up?” There was no response on the other end of the line, just some shuffling around and a loud banging sound. “Hello, Rachel? Can you hear me?” I asked again. This time, I heard what sounded like Stan off in the distance on the other end of the line.

“Open the fucking door Rachel, before I break it down?”

My eyes widened and I quickly tried to get Rachel’s attention. “Rachel! Hello! Can you hear me? Rachel, answer the phone!”

I heard Rachel call out and scream before the line went dead. Thankfully, I was at a red light and quickly called Danny.  
“Mommy, what’s wrong?” Nora asked. Me yelling at the phone probably scared her.

I looked back at her. “It’s fine baby, I just got to call Danny okay?” I turned down another street when I finally heard him answer.

“Hey Thea, what’s up? You know I think you hurt Steve’s feelings calling me instead of him.” He joked.

“Danny, something’s wrong over at Rachel’s house. I think Stan hurt her.”

Danny was silent for a moment. “What do you mean?” The joking tone in his voice was gone.

“She called me, I don’t know if it was on accident or on purpose. I could hear a lot of noise and Stan telling her he was going to break a door down. She was screaming but the phone hung up before I could get her to hear me.” I remembered suddenly that Rachel hadn’t told him about the divorce or the reason she was divorcing him. I knew Stan was angry, but I never thought that he would act like this towards her.

“Thea, where are you?” He asked. I could hear Steve asking him in the background what was going on. “Nora and I were on our way to Kamekona’s.” I was trying to pay attention to the road and talk on the phone.

“How close are you to Steve’s place? I have Grace over here and I don’t want to bring her.” I pulled up to the next light and made a U-turn.

“I’m just a few blocks away.” I said. He hung up and I put my phone down on the passenger seat.

“Nora, we’re going to go hang out with Grace at Steve’s for a while. Maybe I can call Kamekona and have him bring us some food. How about that?” I asked her. The nervous look on her face broke my heart.

“But is Auntie Rachel going to be okay?”

I tried my best to give her a small smile in the rear-view mirror.

“I hope so sweet pea, I hope so.” 

I hope you guys enjoyed!


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